Fmr Georgia Official Draws Rebuke After Saying N-Word at Meeting Declaring April ‘Confederate History Month’

A former member of a Georgia city’s board of commissioners dropped an n-bomb several times at a public meeting, inspiring a rebuke from a black commissioner on the board, in dramatic video released by the Washington Post.

Last week, the Atlanta suburb of Griffin, Georgia, declared April as Confederate History Month. And during the public comments part of the meeting announcing the proclamation, a former elected official made the offensive comments.

“I told you at that time that there were white folks, and there were black folks when I was growing up,” Larry Johnson, our white former official, told his ex-colleague Rodney McCord, a black current official.

“There was white trash — my family — and there was n*****town,” he continued. “I lived next to n*****town.”

As the other officials on the board remained silent, a stunned McCord asked Johnson, “You lived next to what town?”

Later in the video, McCord condemned Johnson, as Hollberg tried to stop him from speaking:

I’m not going to sit here…Maybe y’all are comfortable with it, I don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and let this man use that type of language. And if nobody else is offended, then I am. Now if y’all want to clap and think that that’s okay for this gentleman to stand, in 2018, and get here at the board of city commission meeting — 2018! The Civil War is over and he is using the n-word not once, not twice — three times! And he just continues to say it with not word about who it offends.

Per WaPo:

At that point, Hollberg asked Johnson to refrain from using the racial slur. Johnson then went on to talk about the Confederacy, why he supports the Confederate flag, the Civil War and his Scottish heritage.

“My skin is white, my neck is red, and I was born in Southern bed,” he said. “Nothing wrong with that. I hope that doesn’t offend anybody.”

He also apologized to McCord, and before leaving the podium, reiterated an earlier argument that the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery.

According to WaPo, McCord “decried” the proclamation to make April Confederate History Month in the city:

“A proclamation to these very anti-Americans who did not want to be a part of America and now were are going to celebrate — that is the most un-American thing that I’ve ever heard,” he said.